Chapter 14 - THE LAST BETRAYALMarcus had taken the pendant.
The real one.
The one Emily had given to Sarah.
The chip they had decrypted was a decoy.
Marcus had switched it.
Robert felt betrayed beyond words.
He had trusted Marcus for seventeen years.
Marcus knew everything.
His family.
His career.
His secrets.
He knew where Robert kept emergency documents.
He knew the mansion.
He knew Emily.
He knew every weakness.
Robert tracked him to an underground parking garage in Washington.
Marcus stood beside a black SUV.
Cole was there.
Victor was there.
And Margaret was missing again.
Robert raised his weapon.
“Put the chip down.”
Marcus laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“Atlas isn't the enemy.”
Cole looked at Marcus.
Robert frowned.
“Then who is?”
Marcus smiled.
“You.”
Robert stared.
“You created Black River.”
Robert shook his head.
“No.”
“You signed the authorization.”
“I was ordered.”
“You were the architect.”
Robert's mind raced.
Fragments of memory returned.
A classified meeting.
A signature.
A promise that the system would only be used defensively.
But memories could be manipulated.
Thomas had warned him.
They were rewriting reality.
Marcus stepped closer.
“You've spent seventeen years believing you stopped the program.”
Robert whispered:
“Did I?”
Marcus nodded.
“You never stopped it.”
The system had been running secretly.
Robert's own military credentials had authorized it.
His fingerprints were everywhere.
If the truth became public, Robert would be blamed.
His career would collapse.
Thousands of classified operations could become public.
America could face the largest intelligence scandal in decades.
Marcus raised the chip.
“And Emily is the only person who can erase it.”
Robert lowered his weapon.
“What do you want?”
Marcus smiled.
“For you to bring her.”
Robert knew what that meant.
He had one choice.
Save his daughter.
Or save the country from the system.
He turned.
Emily was standing behind him.
She had heard everything.
“No.”
Robert looked at her.
“No what?”
“I won't let them choose for me.”
She stepped forward.
Marcus smiled.
“Smart girl.”
Emily looked directly at him.
“I'll activate it.”
Robert's eyes widened.
Emily continued.
“But not for you.”
She pulled a second device from her pocket.
Thomas had given it to her before he died.
She pressed one button.
Every screen in the parking garage turned on.
Atlas files began appearing.
Names.
Payments.
Orders.
Murders.
Cover-ups.
Everything.
Cole screamed.
“What did you do?”
Emily looked at him.
“I made the decision.”
The files began transmitting worldwide.
But then every screen went black.
A final message appeared.
TRANSFER COMPLETE.
Robert looked at Emily.
“What did you send?”
May you like
She whispered:
“Everything.”
